Hou Tu Bestows Treasures, Queen Mother Seeks Help

Styx returned to the Blood Sea only to find quite a crowd gathered outside.

All familiar faces, however.

Hou Tu and Hou Yi of the Witch Clan.

And the Western Queen Mother.

Clearly, all of them had come for him.

Styx said, "What brings all you fellow cultivators to my desolate corner today?"

Only then did the crowd notice Styx.

Hou Tu smiled faintly, stepped forward, and said, "Earlier, when the Demon Race attacked the Witch Clan, you sent someone to aid my Hou Tu Tribe. I have yet to thank you for that."

Styx was not surprised that the Witch Clan knew Mingzhu had been sent by him. After all, among those who owed the Witch Clan a karmic debt and had the nerve to risk offending the Demon Race by helping them at that time, he was likely the only one.

Styx replied politely, "It was merely repaying the karmic debt from the Witch Clan's earlier assistance. Ancestral Witch Hou Tu is too kind."

Hou Tu wasted no words. She made a gesture to Hou Yi, who immediately stepped forward and set down two boxes.

Before Styx could speak, Hou Tu cut in, "One must repay kindness received—that is the rule of my Witch Clan. Fellow Daoist Styx, do not refuse!"

But Styx truly did not wish to entangle himself further with the Witch Clan, so he said, "Ancestral Witch, you are far too courteous. Such a trivial matter is hardly worth dwelling on."

With that, he pushed the two boxes back.

Hou Tu waved a hand. "These things are useless to my Witch Clan. I gift them to you instead."

Seeing Styx still reluctant, Hou Tu added, "Won't you open them and take a look first?"

Styx's divine soul stirred with an inexplicable tremor. After some hesitation, he opened one box.

He glanced at it, then quickly shut it. His attitude did a complete one-eighty. "Then I thank you, fellow Daoist!"

He promptly stowed both boxes away.

The smile on Hou Tu's face deepened. "Then I shall not disturb you further. Hou Yi, come thank Fellow Daoist Styx for saving your life last time."

Hou Yi stepped forward and bowed to Styx. "Many thanks to the great god for your aid!"

Styx waved a hand, signaling that he need not take it too seriously.

Hou Tu did not linger. Having delivered the gifts, she led Hou Yi back to the Witch Clan.

Styx had to admit—Hou Tu was undeniably clever.

No wasted words, no dragging things out, and she made no demands of him. This rekindled the karmic bond between Styx and the Witch Clan, which had already been settled.

And this time, the debt was no small matter, for the contents of those two boxes were far from ordinary.

Hou Tu left, but the Western Queen Mother remained.

Seeing her hesitant expression, it was clear her purpose in seeking him out was no simple matter.

Add to that her involvement in the ambush against him last time—they already had a karmic score to settle.

Her visit now likely meant she had a request to make of him.

Styx directly led the Western Queen Mother into the Blood Sea. After all, she had not spoken of her business outside, likely because she did not want others to know.

Hou Tu, on the other hand, had been the opposite.

She wanted the whole world to know that the Witch Clan and Styx were deeply bound together.

That was undoubtedly good for the Witch Clan. They had no Primordial Purple Qi, and Nüwa of the Demon Race would one day become a Sage. The Witch Clan urgently needed a Sage as their backing.

Among those who had interacted with the Witch Clan, were at odds with the Demon Race, and possessed Primordial Purple Qi, Styx was the most suitable candidate.

Otherwise, Hou Tu would not have specially brought Hou Yi to present such precious gifts to Styx after the third lecture.

Once inside the Blood Sea Palace, Styx signaled for the Western Queen Mother to speak.

The Western Queen Mother knelt directly and said, "I beg you, fellow Daoist, save me!"

Styx did not respond, waiting for her to finish.

The Western Queen Mother continued, "My participation in the ambush against you was forced by circumstances. It was Hong—"

"Silence!"

Styx cut her off, not allowing her to utter Hongjun's name.

For a Sage, merely speaking their name aloud allowed them to sense it.

Let alone Hongjun, who had now merged with the Heavenly Dao, granting him far greater perception of all beings in the Primordial Wilderness than before.

Though Styx was well aware that the eight who had surrounded him were likely manipulated by Hongjun behind the scenes, there was no need to drag that into the open.

Styx said coldly, "If you came only to speak of this, you may leave now!"

The Western Queen Mother realized her slip. She was not angered by Styx's interruption but swallowed nervously, as if terrified.

"Do not be angry, fellow Daoist. That was a lapse on my part! In truth, I joined the ambush against you hoping to curry favor with that one, to escape the threat to my life!"

Styx perked up slightly at this.

From Western Queen Mother's tone, someone wanted to kill her? But to be honest, Western Queen Mother kept an extremely low profile in the Primordial Wilderness. At most, her title as Leader of Female Immortals carried some weight.

However, after Eastern Duke, the Leader of Male Immortals, was killed, and during the Third Sermon, Nüwa was accepted as Hongjun's disciple and granted the Primordial Purple Qi, most beings in the Primordial Wilderness recognized Nüwa as the foremost female immortal. Western Queen Mother's former status as Leader of Female Immortals had long lost its significance.

Even if someone wanted to kill Western Queen Mother, they'd likely see no benefit in it.

Moreover, Western Queen Mother's strength was not weak—in fact, she was even slightly stronger than Eastern Duke had been back then.

Who would want to kill her?

Western Queen Mother's next words answered Styx's question: "Within West Kunlun, there is a Chaos Demon God!"

Styx was shaken by this!

"A Chaos Demon God!"

"Yes!"

Styx instinctively denied it: "If a Chaos Demon God truly existed in West Kunlun, how could the Heavenly Dao remain unresponsive?"

West Kunlun was considered a famous Divine Mountain in the Primordial Wilderness. If a Chaos Demon God were discovered there, the Heavenly Dao would surely react.

Just like when Styx first transmigrated, and traces of a Chaos Demon God appeared in the Blood Sea—the Heavenly Dao responded immediately.

If Western Queen Mother could detect a Chaos Demon God in West Kunlun, the Heavenly Dao certainly couldn't have missed it!

Western Queen Mother explained: "Because that Chaos Demon God is sealed. The power of that seal far exceeds mine—it was very likely placed by the Heavenly Dao itself."

Styx found this believable.

After all, most Chaos Demon Gods from the past were at the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal of the Origin level, and a rare few even reached the Hunyuan Wuji Golden Immortal level.

To seal them would require at least the power of a Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal of the Origin, far surpassing Western Queen Mother's Quasi-Sage strength.

In the current Primordial Wilderness, those capable of such a feat numbered fewer than the fingers on one hand.

First was the Heavenly Dao. Upon its emergence, its power already reached Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal of the Origin. After eons of development, whether it had attained the Hunyuan Wuji Golden Immortal level, Styx couldn't say for sure—but he thought it was very possible.

Second was Hongjun. Hongjun was the first Sage in the Primordial Wilderness. After the Third Sermon, his strength reached at least the late stage of Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal of the Origin, and now, having merged with the Heavenly Dao, he could mobilize its power.

Third was Yang Mei. Originally a Chaos Demon God, he sensed during the Heaven-Opening Calamity that he was no match for Pangu and decisively reincarnated into the Primordial Wilderness. It was said he became a Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal of the Origin even earlier than Hongjun, but later, when Hongjun attained Sagehood and they fought, Yang Mei was defeated and ultimately expelled from the Primordial Wilderness.

Yet Styx couldn't help but think of another existence.